I admit it – I’m a sock knitting addict. Not that I NEED that many socks, but they’re so much fun to knit! My boys love hand knit socks, too, although they have a tendency to drop them in the laundry where Dad doesn’t see them… and then they’re felted and toddler-sized. This was my first pair of socks, so they’ve been worn quite a bit. They’re worsted weight, because I was intimidated by the idea of sock-weight yarns at the time. Despite being 100% wool and a little bit felted, they’ve worn like iron! They are more like slippers, but they wear well with clogs. That success inspired these crazy beauties: These knee high rainbow socks are incredibly warm and comfy! They aren’t great at staying up, though – they need a little drawstring or something at the top. They are for lounging anyway – they are too thick to be worn with most shoes – so it doesn’t matter much if they slide down… One of the more interesting socks I’ve knit – Reverso by Mary the Hobbit (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/reverso). The pattern is written for three sizes, and is definitely entertaining! I should have knit them in a more mellow yarn, though – you can’t really see the beauty of the design… and it doesn’t help that they’ve been worn and crumpled, so they’re not freshly blocked, ready to show off their loveliness. They look better on the foot. Below is a detail of how the reversed socks look since my pictures are lousy: And even more fun with socks… Most of these are riffs on my favorite overall pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vanilla-latte-socks. I’m a big fan of the eye of partridge heel, and I’m a sworn magic loop sock knitter, but not two at a time (because I’m too lazy to make two yarn cakes). Socks, socks, socks!

I have made countless baby blankets out of Bernat Baby Blanket yarn. This pattern, called Shadow Cable Baby Blanket (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shadow-cable-baby-blanket) is hugely popular! I even made one for my hubby as a lap throw on cold nights. It doesn’t do well with variegated colorways (the cables don’t stand out nicely) but the blankets hold up nicely to washing and can take quite a bit of abuse!

Addi Turbo Lace circular needles… Am I the only one who CANNOT find a way to get the cables to relax? I have tried the ‘tricks’ I found online – soak them in near-boiling water for varying periods of time, try hanging a weight on them after soaking, etc… and yet, within minutes, they go back to this. I use them for magic loop sock knitting, and they drive me batty!

My addi turbo interchangeables aren’t nearly this bad, but of course they don’t make size 1 interchangeables (at least I’ve never found any such needle)… What I want is a soft, flexible cable that doesn’t curl every five seconds!

This was actually my first Blue-Faced Leicester and alpaca yarn, hand dyed by a local artisan in my own town. I LOVE it! I’ve heard that BFL isn’t as soft as merino, but this yarn is amazingly soft and the color is so vibrant!

Here’s a perfect example of my inability to avoid projects that might be less than enjoyable… I love natural fibers above all things… But my kids adore this thick blanket yarn (Bernat Baby Blanket), and have a variety of things made from it. They always pick wacky colors and would love to dye it if it would accept dyes that they could use (it’s 100% polyester). My youngest begged me to make a REAL blanket – a blanket-sized blanket, not a kid-sized blanket. Foolishly, I agreed.

This project took way longer than it should have – mostly because it was too warm to knit unless it was very cold outside (and in the house). However, the recent Arctic Blast we’ve been experiencing was just the thing to finish this up!

I am a knitting addict, and I have no intention of seeking treatment. How do I know that I’m addicted? Well, I always have a WIP (work in progress) – if I don’t, I feel anxious and have butterflies in my stomach until I have chosen something to work on. I feel triumphant completing a project, only to start knitting something else within the hour. My yarn stash is, umm, sizable – I have it divided across many boxes so it doesn’t seem so unreasonable. I have yarns that are definitely not stash-worthy, just because I can’t make myself throw away yarn (even if it was given to me and isn’t something I would have chosen). Yarn MUST be used!

So this year, I decided to start tracking my projects to see what I really accomplish, not that it matters if anything is truly accomplished – I knit! That is enough.